Chapter 10: RWPY, JNBR, and KVKC


Forty students. Out of nearly a hundred candidates, forty students passed Initiation. And Kohaku had a hard time believing she was one of them.

She and her new clique were currently sitting back in the auditorium, basking on their success. Whether it was Ruby's and Mytyl's excitement, Yang's and Nora's exhausting rowdiness, Copen's fiddling with his jammed weaponry (she was becoming convinced he is part robot and that's how he emotes), or GV passed out close by while Jaune drew on his face while Blake hid her amusement poorly, spirits were undeniably high. And it wasn't only them. Every student in the room was having their own personal celebration.

They've been told to rest tonight. Tomorrow they'll be assigned their teams and team leaders, officially inducting them into Beacon Academy. Kohaku looked at her partner, currently being berated by his combat pods as the little robot went about how reckless he was. She then looked at Mytyl – currently dragging Weiss and Pyrrha to join her and Ruby in their celebration – and GV, currently sporting a mustache and a monocle. If she had to bet, they would end up being her team after the events during Initiation. And she felt woefully outclassed.

"Tough day?"

Kohaku chuckled at Ren's understatement. "That's one way to put it. Just wondering if I really should be here at all. I didn't do much during Initiation."

"From what I've heard, you kept Jaune alive," Ren pointed out.

"She did," Jaune confirmed, finishing a goatee on GV.

"And also literally swooped in and saved Mytyl."

"She did!" Mytyl swooped to her side, trapping Kohaku into a hug. "You are the reason I am alive. And the reason Copen defeated the Nevermore. The Kamizono family is indebted to you." Mytyl grabbed Kohaku's face and forced the brunette to stare into her crimson eyes. "And the Kamizono always pay their debts." She narrowed her eyes and hissed, "Always."

"I would have gone back to beat that bird after rescuing you," Copen said without even looking up from where he was working on his boot.

"Sure, you would," Mytyl said with a vibrant smile. "Serious talk. Level with me, Kohaku. You're a girl. Presumably single. Copen is a boy. Definitely single."

"AAAAAAAAH" Lola yelled as she sailed past the spot where Mytyl's head occupied before the lavender-haired girl ducked.

"So rough," Mytyl lamented, still impishly smiling as she used Kohaku as a makeshift shield against Copen's frigid scowl. Then his scowl turned into the most frightening smirk Mytyl had ever seen her brother wear.

"So, Jaune…"

Jaune looked up from where he was playing tic-tac-toe with Blake on GV's cheek. "Huh?"

"You are a gallant knight," – Mytyl froze at Copen's choice of word – "and my sister a, what was it? Fair fairy? It's funny you say that, given Mytyl's… tastes in 'romantic' literature. Interesting."

Jaune, in a rare showcase of common sense, opted not to respond verbally and just laugh nervously while scratching the back of his head sheepishly. The red creeping towards his cheeks did little to hide where his thoughts were going. Blake was looking at Mytyl with renewed interest.

Mytyl dove towards her brother, face beet red and rambling incoherently in an attempt to stop him. Lumen and Lola orbited above the bickering twins while going "'Oooooh".

Kohaku, along with everyone else, laughed at the sibling's good-natured squabbling.

"You'll do fine. And if you trip, we'll catch you," Ren said to Kohaku, smiling reassuringly at the girl.

"Renny is right!" Nora sided next to her, enveloping Kohaku in a crushing one-armed hug that had her wincing. "He is normally right about this kind of stuff. You'll see. It'll a blast. You, Renny, me, and all this other dorks" – a "Hey!" from Yang was heard in the background – "we'll become the most awesome students Beacon ever had. Legends will be passed down through generations about our feats!"

'Maybe Ren and Nora are right,' Kohaku thought, feeling more confident. She was here to learn, and she was not alone.

-o-

"… and songstresses would wax lyrics about the manly achievements of Team Cardinal!"

Polite applauses – more mechanical claps than actual applauses – rang around the faculty room.

"Port, you could have just left it at suggesting Cardin as leader and a team name." Ozpin pointed out as he jotted down CRDL's bios, not willing to continue the discussion about CRDL's team name or leadership. Not after Port's ten minutes epic on the subject.

"I could have," Port agreed. And said nothing more.

"Should we really be stroking Mister Winchester's ego like this?" Oobleck unreasonably added. Couldn't the man take a hint and drop the subject?

"I don't think it's wise," Peach answered, "but looking over the results of Initiation, Cardin is the best candidate for team leader. Sky could also work, but it's obvious the team as a whole looks up to Cardin."

Oobleck sighed, aware of the results. But still. "Could we at least change the team's name to something that is not CARDINal?"

Port scoffed. "I am personally proud of the name I came up with, but I guess there is no reason to keep it. Go ahead, Bart. Change the name. I dare you."

Silent reigned over staff room.

"CRDL it is," Ozpin stated with finality. Coming up with team names was the most dreaded part of the entire process each year and he'll be damned if he agonized over it after being handed in a silver platter encrusted with gems such a perfect name in Cardinal.

"Next on the list we have Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, Blake Belladonna, and Jaune Arc," Glynda announced.

"Don't think I don't see what you did there, Glynda. I believe Mister Arc should be made team leader."

Glynda reigned her temper in, and respectfully addressed Ozpin. "Oz, be reasonable, Mister Arc cheated his way into Beacon. He is not qualified to be a Huntsman, much less a team leader."

"You are mistaken. If you look at the official records, Mister Arc got sponsored into Beacon," Ozpin sipped from his omnipresent mug, "by me."

"And only the gods know why," Glynda muttered dejectedly.

If Ozpin heard her, he ignored her. "Miss Belladonna and Miss Valkyrie are hardly leader material. I think we can all agree on that?" A chorus of affirmatives validated his opinion. "That leaves Mister Ren and Mister Arc. While the former could work, I believe his passivity and offhand approach to Miss Valkyrie's… antics, would prove detrimental to the team's development. And if we're going by the Initiation, all three members proved highly receptive to Mister Arc's plan, which may I add was executed flawlessly. Mister Arc took account of the situation, of his team's abilities, and came up with a sensible course of action and led it to completion. He also was the only student to figure out where the final objective was located without being told, following others, or hacking into our systems."

Glynda raised an eyebrow. "Are you done with your praises?"

Ozpin took the opportunity to take a drink and wet his throat. Then answered. "No. Mister Arc also grew remarkably quick into his role as a, what do the kids called it? Meat shield? I stand by what I said at the very beginning: he is a diamond in the rough, a gem that needs to be polished. He has potential and leadership would only make him shine even brighter. Of course, if you are so opposed to it, Glynda, we can vote on it. All in favor of having Mister Arc as leader, say 'aye?"

"Aye"

"Aye"

"Aye"

And so, it went on. Until everyone but Glynda agreed with Ozpin. The woman just glared at the man. "Fine, if you are so insistent on having a J or an A as the first letter of the team's name, you can have it."

"I glad you are seeing it my way, Glynda," Ozpin saluted his deputy headmistress with his mug. Glynda rolled her eyes. The matter was not even worth wasting any more brain cells than what she already spent. "Personally, I was dreading not having an R to pair with Miss Belladonna's B at the end of the team's name."

Everyone, including Glynda, perked up at that bit of knowledge.

"Yes!" Peach jovially cheered.

"Team Juneberry!" Oobleck excitedly worded what everyone was thinking.

"Proof the gods do exist," Ozpin sarcastically commented, finalizing the creation of Team JNBR. Thank the gods for the existence of berries.

"Next we have Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Pyrrha Nikos, and Yang Xiao Long. I think team RWPY, pronounced "Ruby", has a nice ring to it."

"We are not turning Miss Nikos's P into a B just so you can play favorites, Ozpin." Glynda warned.

"…Well, I propose a vote-"

"NO!" a chorus of professors responded.

"Spoilsports." Ozpin lamented both the fact Miss Belladonna chose Mister Arc over Miss Xiao Long and that he was deleting his preferred name. "Sorry, Miss Rose. Your name as a team name was not meant to be. Maybe in another place, in more simple times."

"Why do you believe Ruby should be the leader? Other than blatant favoritism, I mean," Greene asked.

"I won't deny favoritism," Ozpin explained, "but let's be real here. Let's look at our options: Miss Schnee is our second-best choice, but her… upbringing and idea of leadership will just rub everyone the wrong way. She is better suited to take leadership courses in her third year. Miss Nikos abhor the idea of being a leader, so I see no reason to force her. Finally, Miss Xiao Long… is Miss Xiao Long. She is more likely to get her team arrested and cause Miss Schnee to defect back to Atlas. Miss Rose is the best candidate. If not because of her amiable personality and tactical mind as seen in Initiation, because by default she is the best option."

The faculty was reluctant to agree with Ozpin, but he has a point.

"Very well," Goodwitch said. "Even if we are not pronouncing RWPY as Ruby, we can still pronounce it as Rupee."

"What's a Rupee?" Mulberry brusquely asked.

"A bastardization of ruby. Used in some video game if I recall correctly."

Everyone looked at Ozpin.

"What?" He asked

Then they looked at Glynda, who hadn't corrected Ozpin and therefore implicitly confirmed he was right.

"Team RWPY it is," Glynda didn't respond to the questioning looks. "Our final team is: Gun Volt, Copen and Mytyl Kamizono, and Kohaku Mino… Go."

"Though one," Oobleck expressed.

"I believe Miss Kamizono or Miss Mino are the best equipped to lead the team."

Greene looked at Ozpin questioningly. "Gun and Copen are definitely the stronger members though."

Ozpin dismissed the critique. "Ann, you know very well that's not something that weighs heavily when deciding a leader. I'm disqualifying Mister Volt and Mister Kamizono because they have shown a tendency to take on all the workload for themselves. I fear that either of them becoming team leaders will result in, at best, the leader ignoring the team and, at worst, both of them butting heads with each other over trivial things. As equals they'll probably work fine together. But as superior and subordinate, even if the distinction is hardly binding?" Ozpin theatrically shuddered.

"On the other hand," Glynda continued the thought, "Miss Kamizono has shown exceptional social skills and, just like Arc, devised a strategy taking into consideration everybody's skills. Even Miss Mino, who didn't do much in the actual battle, was ordered to defend the unarmed Mister Volt, so she wasn't completely excluded. A little skewed towards her comfort zone, but overall the plan made good use of everyone. I can see her being a good candidate for leadership. Why Miss Mino, though?"

"Miss Mino demonstrated good theoretical knowledge throughout Initiation," Ozpin explained, "and I have it in good confidence that she has developed leadership skills back in her hometown. I suspect they didn't shine due to her insecurities regarding her fighting prowess, which she is showing a bad habit of undervaluing." Ozpin took a breather, sipping from his mug. "At the end of the day, if we go by Initiation alone, Miss Kamizono is the obvious choice. It's not like it matters when it comes to naming the team. We still have to somehow create a team that starts with K or M and use those… initials."

Everyone shivered at the thought. A moment of silence passed as the faculty considered possible team names.

"I got nothing." Port announced.

Oobleck shook his head.

Mulberry shrugged.

Greene popped a "Nope."

Peach gave a "Sorry."

And so, the negatives went through the rest of the faculty, with Glynda closing the round with a grim, "We truly are the architects of our own undoing. Who thought this naming convention was a good idea?"

Ozpin sipped his mug and answered. "Some idiot who advised the last King of Vale. Also responsible for the color scheme naming convention idea; the one for newborns. Only kept around because after the war settled, he was the last remaining vassal halfway decent at the job. He also made a killer coffee brew. Trust me Glynda, I've been fighting it for as long as I can remember. I do have a name, but it's a bit of a stretch."

Typing out the four letters and its pronunciation, Ozpin showed it to the gathered audience.

Glynda gave a rare smile. "It's a huge stretch, Oz, but any team would be thrilled about having that name. Much better than that time you named a team Jazzberry."

Everybody shuddered at that memory.

"Frankly, is not much worse than last year when you named a team CFVY," Mulberry expressed, to the agreement of several professors.

"Then is decided. Our last team is Team KVKC."

-o-

The students vigorously applauded as the newly christened Team CRDL stepped off the stage. Ozpin allowed the applauses to die a bit before continuing.

"Next. Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, Blake Belladonna, and Jaune Arc. The four of you retrieved the Sloth Relic," – snickers were heard from the audience – "and the Lion Relic. Together, you overcame a great trial through an impressive display of teamwork, supporting each other splendidly. From this day forward, you shall be known as Team J‑N‑B‑R. Team Juneberry!"

A roar of applauses drowned the auditorium. In the stage, Nora picked everyone's hand and raised them in victory.

"Led by… Jaune Arc!"

Jaune was floored at the declaration, not quite sure how to respond. Nora responded for him, loudly cheering for their 'fearless leader'. Ren gave Jaune an encouraging nod and Blake, while not as enthused, was still in high spirits and gave Jaune a disbelieving but accepting smile. There were worst leaders out there.

"Well done, young man," Ozpin gave Jaune a parting compliment as JNBR left the stage. Ozpin called the next team.

"Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Pyrrha Nikos. Yang Xiao Long. You retrieved the Wolf and Phoenix relics," – Yang whooped at the mention of the Phoenix Relic – "Together, you stood above your differences and achieved victory against a formidable opponent. From this day forward, you shall be known as Team R‑W‑P‑Y. Team Rupee."

Once more Ozpin allowed the cheering to recede. "Led by… Ruby Rose!"

Ruby was assaulted by a hug from Yang, who cheered along with the crowd for Ruby. Pyrrha clapped and gave the young Huntress-in-training an encouraging smile. Weiss paid only a glancing eye towards Ruby, remaining ramrod until Ozpin dismissed them.

"Finally: Gun Volt. Copen Kamizono. Mytyl Kamizono. Kohaku Mino. The four of you retrieved the Dragon and Tiger Relics. Rising to the occasion, not only you successfully overcome an insurmountable threat, you inspired others to follow on your steps. From this day forward, you shall be known as Team K-V‑K‑C."

Ozpin allowed the audience to savor the initials for a second or two. He did the same last year for team CVFY and many years before for Team STRQ. He enjoyed letting people wonder what the most farfetched team names would end up being.

"Team Kaleidoscope."

Once more, the student body cheered on for the new team. Ozpin saw that, despite the stretch, the newly minted Team KVKC were excited about the moniker. Mytyl was gushing about it to her brother, Kohaku was doing the same to both the Kamizono, and even GV and Copen were wearing self-satisfied smirks.

Given the color-based naming convention, there were just some names – kaleidoscope, prism, chromatic, among others – that brought an overwhelming sense of excitement and pride to teams who received them.

Ozpin still had one announcement to make.

"Led by… Mytyl Kamizono!"

As the cheering intensified, the girl was caught off guard by the announcement. Kohaku took the opportunity to snare the girl into a congratulatory hug while Copen affectionately ruffled his sister's hair. Towards the side, GV sent the girl his own brand of silence congratulations.

'This promises to be an interesting year.'


Author's Notes


Finally, we know what KVKC stands for!

And is a huge stretch. To which I'll respond by pointing at the likes of SSSN. I'm sure you readers can brute force a better name, but Kaleidoscope is sick! Kaleidoscope is a pretty badass name for a team. Some possible team names just have an extra 'oomph' to them. Know what I'm saying?

Juniper? Is ok, I guess.
Ruby? Serviceable, but mostly cool because it's the name of the team leader.
A team called Prism? Chromatic? Iridescent? Diamond? If those teams do not live up to those names, they should have their Huntsman and Huntresses licenses revoked!

Can we argue Zodiac invokes the color white due to how stars look to the naked eye? Please let us argue that. I want a Team Zodiac… So yeah, Team Kaleidoscope. Woooo (b'.')b

Also, ASG, the game franchise, is fond of using big words, among them kaleidoscope. It just fits thematically with the Gunvolt cast.

Anyways, rundown! Assume GV and RWBY spoilers!

Kohaku: Stay strong, Kohaku, stay strong for sister!

Ren: It feels so weird to use Ren as a last name. And it is confirmed that Ren is Lie's last name. And it feels so weird to use Lie as a first name. Anyhow, if you are like me and don't bother paying attention to this sort of things, confirmation can be found in the credits of the episode with Ren's parents. The actors are credited for voicing Li Ren and An Ren.

And here's the thing. It feels weird but I used to be referred by my last name during my high school years, so it's not like it is an alien concept to me.

Jazzberry: Reference to one of Coeur's fic. Good lord, that name XD

Thumbelina Peach, Ann Greene, and Harold Mulberry: All actual professors at Beacon. Peach is even mentioned in the actual show!

Berries: If I was in charge of naming teams, I would be ecstatic any time I see a team with any combination of the letters B, R, Y. If Weiss was the leader of RWBY, we could call the team Wildberry! Hell, we can call RWBY Raspberry! Or perhaps Razzberry! Razzleberry!

Jaune: Yep. In this story, we have established you can apply to Beacon, among other ways, via transcripts (Yang, Pyrrha) or sponsorship/recommendation (Ruby, GV, Kohaku). So, what's an easy way to get around Jaune's fake transcripts? Have Ozpin sponsor him.

Mytyl: I honestly believe Mytyl would make the best team leader. Actually, Kohaku would make a better one, but Mytyl makes a good second best. While Copen and GV are stronger, they are lone wolves.

In the games, GV is a bonafide infiltrator/one-man army. His idea of backup consists of summoning the ghost of his dead totally-not-girlfriend whenever he dies. Yikes! At best GV is the leader-figure of his little support crew by virtue of being the only one with personal investment and taking actual risks.

Copen is just a dick that took WAY, WAY, WAAAAAYYYY too long to mellow.

So yeah. Mytyl. Leader. Good stuff.